GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus OUT: Check Dates, Syllabus, Books, and More
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )
Exam On - 14 Feb '26
IIT Guwahati has released GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) syllabus on GATE’s official website - gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates who are interested in applying for ES paper for GATE 2026 exam can check syllabus, pattern, books, exam dates, etc.
GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus: IIT Guwahati will conduct GATE 2026 exam in two phases on February 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2026. Examinations will be conducted in Morning (9:30 am to 12:30 pm) and the Afternoon (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Candidates can check GATE 2026 ES syllabus, books, pattern and preparation tips here.
Latest Update: GATE 2026 Branch-wise exam dates OUT
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GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering
GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering comprises various subjects and topics, such as mathematics foundation, microbiology, environmental chemistry, air and noise pollution, etc. Some career opportunities include, pollution control engineer, sustainability consultant, etc.
Here are some of the best books for GATE Computer Science and Engineering preparation -
- Digital Logic and Computer Design by Morris Mano
- The C Programming Language by Dennis M.Ritchie
- Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H.Cormen
- Database System Concepts Henry Korth
- Data Communication and Networking Behrouz A.Forouzon
Candidates are advised not to neglect textbooks as well. They are gold. The textbooks cover majority of concepts and fundamentals explained easily. So, start with your standard books first, then use the reference books for further preparation.
Use standard books to clear concepts. Memorise one chapter and go through the related topics and try solving questions from every level - easy, medium, and tough. After covering one topic, pick questions from PYQs that are relevant to that particular topic and practice.
GATE 2026 ES exam dates has been announced. GATE 2026 ES exam date is February 7 (forenoon session) 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. IIT Guwahati has announced GATE 2026 exam dates: February 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2026 in two sessions - Forenoon (9:30 am to 12:30 pm) and Afternoon (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Candidates appearing for the exam must carry their admit card to test centre. GATE 2026 admit card release date is January 2.
GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus
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GATE ES paper comprises mathematics and a subject specific syllabus. Candidates can check GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering exam syllabus below for all sections along with sub-topics -
Section I - Mathematics Foundation
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Linear Algebra |
Determinants and Matrices | Systems of Linear Equations | Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors |
| Calculus |
Functions | Limit | Continuity | Differentiability | Local Maxima and Minima | Taylor Series | Test for Convergence | Definite and Indefinite Integrals | Application of Definite Integral to Obtain Area and Volume | Partial and Total Derivatives |
| Differential Equations |
Linear and Non-Linear First-Order Differential Equations (ODE) | Higher Order Linear ODE’s with constant coefficients | Cauchy’s and Euler’s Equations | Laplace Transform and its Applications in Solving Linear ODEs |
| Probability and Statistics |
Descriptive Statistics | Measurement of Central Tendency | Dispersion | Skewness and Kurtosis | Probability Concepts | Conditional Probability | Baye’s Theorem | Risk and Reliability | Probability Distributions | Correlation | Single and Multiple Regression Models | Hypothesis Testing (t-Test, F-Test, chi-square test) |
Section II - Environmental Chemistry
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Environmental Chemistry |
Covalent and Iconic Bonding | Chemical Equations | Concentration and Activity | Structure and Chemistry of Organic Molecules | Radioactivity of Elements | Chemical Equilibria | Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Chemical Reactions |
| Principles of Water Chemistry |
Water quality parameters and their measurement | Acid-base equilibria | Buffer solution | Carbonate system | Solubility of gases in water | Complexation, precipitation, and redox reactions | Inorganic and organic contaminants in water and their speciation |
| Soil Chemistry |
Organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and Sodium absorption ratio |
| Atmospheric Chemistry |
Composition of the atmosphere | Reactivity of trace substances in the atmosphere | Urban atmosphere - smog and particulate pollution | Chemistry of Ozone formation | Chemistry of Stratosphere |
Section III- Environmental Microbiology
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Microbiology |
Characteristics of Diverse Groups of Microorganisms | Classification of Microorganisms | Microbial Diversity | Plant Microbe and Soil Microbe Interactions | Role of Microorganisms in Wastewater Treatment | Bioremediation and Biogeochemical Cycling |
| Cell Chemistry and Cell Biology |
Structure of Proteins, Nucleic Acid (DNA and RNA) | Lipids and Polysaccharides | Bonds in Biomolecules | Stereoisomerism in Biomolecules | Structure of cell | Structure and function of cytoplasmic membrane | Cell wall | Outer membrane | Glycocalyx, Chromosomes, Endospores, Storage products, Mitochondria, and Chloroplasts |
| Microbial Metabolism |
Anabolism and Catabolism | Phosphorylation | Glycolysis | TCA Cycle | Electron Transport Chain | Fermentation | Anaerobic Respiration | Energy Balances | Enzymes and Enzyme Kinetics |
| Growth and Control of Microorganisms |
Bacterial Nutrition and Growth | Specific Growth Rate and Doubling Time | Monod’s Model | Types of Culture Media | Batch and Continuous Culture | Effects of Environmental Factors on Growth | Control of Microbes using Physical and Chemical Methods |
| Microbiology and Health |
Pathogens and Modes of Transmission | Indicator organisms | Quantification of Coliforms using MPN and Membrane Filtration Techniques |
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Section IV - Water Resources and Environmental Hydraulics
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Global Water Resources |
Structure, Properties and Distribution of Water | Water Quality | Threats to Water Resources | Water Conservation |
| Surface Water Resources |
Hydrological Cycle and Water Balance - Infiltration, Evapotransportation, Runoff | Flow Hydrographs | Unit Hydrographs | State Discharge Relationship | Reservoir Capacity | Reservoir and Chanel Routing | Surface Run-Off Models | Surface Water Management | Rain Water Harvesting and Storage |
| Groundwater Resources |
Geologic Formations as Aquifers | Vadose and Saturated Zones | Confined and Unconfined Aquifers and their parameters - Porosity, Permeability, Transmissivity and Storage Coefficient | Darcy’s Law and Applications | Steady state well hydraulics |
| Environmental Hydraulics |
Concepts of Mechanics | Properties of Fluids | Pressure Measurement | Hydrostatic Force of Surfaces | Buoyancy and Floatation | Laminar and Turbulent Flow | Flow Through Pipes | Pipe Networks | Boundary Layer Theory | Forces on Immersed Bodies | Flow Measurement in Channels and Pipes | Kinematics of Flow, Continuity, Momentum, and Energy Equations | Channel Hydraulics - Specific Energy, Critical Flow, Hydraulic Jump, Rapid and Gradually Varied Flow | Design of Lined and Unlined Channels |
Section V- Water and Wastewater Treatment and Management
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Water and Wastewater Quality Parameters |
Eutrophication and Thermal Stratification in Lakes | River Pollution - Oxygen Sag Curve |
| Water Treatment Methods |
Screening | Sedimentation with and without Coagulation | Filtration | Desalination | Disinfection | Water Distribution and Storage |
| Point and Non-Point Sources of Wastewater |
Population Forecasting Methods | Design of Sewer and Storm Water Sewers | Sewer Appurtenances | Preliminary, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sewage Treatment | Sludge Generation, Processing, and Disposal Methods | Sewage Farming |
| Sources and Characteristics of Industrial Effluents |
Concept of Common Effluent Treatment Plans (CETP) | Wastewater Recycling and Zero Liquid Discharge |
| Kinetics and Reactor Design |
Mass and Energy Balance | Order and Rate of Reactions | Batch Reactors | Completely Mixed Flow Reactors | Plug Flow Reactors |
Section VI - Air and Noise Pollution
No, JEE exams are not mandatory for BSc admissions at IIT Madras. Candidates who wish to take admissions into the BSc course at IIT Madras must appear for IISER entrance examination. The admissions into IIT Madras BSc courses are decided on merit basis where, the scores obtained by candidates in the IISER entrance exam are taken into account to decide the admissions.
Honestly, textbooks are not enough for GATE preparation (especially if you are targeting IITs and top colleges).
Besides your college books, look out for top GATE books recommended by toppers, mentors, and professors. Pick at least one standard book for each subject and start studying it side by side. Apart from that, also practice solving GATE question papers of last 5 to 10 years to get hands on the question difficulty and pattern.
Stay consistent, prepare a practical timetable and religiously follow it. At the end, it's all upto how you prepare for the exam.
Here are some good books for GATE Electrical Engineering and Electronics and Communication Engineering -
| GATE EE Books | GATE EC Books |
| Fundamentals of Electric Circuits by Charles K. Alexander | Fundamentals of Electric Circuits by Charles K. Alexander & Matthew N.O. Sadiku |
| Signals and Systems by A. Anand Kumar | Digital Logic and Computer Design by M.Morris Mano |
| Electric Machinery by P.S Bhimbra | Modern Digital Electronics by R.P Jain |
| Electrical and Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation by AK Shawhey | Analog and Digital Communication Systems by Simon Haykin |
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Air and Noise Pollution |
Structure of the Atmosphere | Natural and Anthropogenic Sources of Pollution | Effect of Health and Environment | Air Pollution: Gases and Particulate Matter | Air Quality Standards: Primary and Secondary Pollutants | Criteria Pollutants | Ambient and Source Standards | Air Quality Indices | Visibility |
| Particulate Pollutants |
Measurement and Control Methods | Control of Particulate Air Pollutants using Gravitational Settling Chambers, Cyclone Separators, Wet Collectors, Fabric Filters (Bag-House Filter) | Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) |
| Gaseous Pollutants |
Measurement and Control Methods | Control of Gaseous Contaminants: Adsorption, Absorption, Condensation, and Combustion | Control of Sulphur Oxides, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, and Hydrocarbons | Vapour-Liquid and Vapour-Solid Equilibria | Diffusion | Fick’s Law and Interfacial Mass Transfer | Automotive Emission Controls | Fuel Quality | Diesel Particulate Filters | Catalytic Convertors |
| Air Quality Management |
Point, Line, and Area Sources | Inventory, Influence of Meteorology -Wind and Rose Diagrams | Stability, Mixing Height, Topography, Dispersion Modelling, and Monitoring |
| Noise Pollution |
Sources | Health Effects | Standards | Measurement and Control Methods |
Section VII - Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Integrated solid-waste management |
Waste Hierarchy | Rules and Regulations for Solid Waste Management in India |
| Municipal Solid-Waste Management |
Sources | Generation | Characteristics, Collection, Transportation, Waste Processing, and Disposal (including reuse options, biological methods, energy recovery processes and landfilling) |
| Hazardous Waste Management |
Characteristics, Generation, Fate of Materials in the Environment, treatment and Disposal | Soil Contamination and Leaching of Contaminants into Groundwater |
| Management of Biomedical Waste, Plastic Waste, and E-waste |
Sources, Generation and Characteristics | Waste Management Practices, including storage, collection, and transfer |
Section VIII - Global and Regional Environmental Issues
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Global Effects of Air Pollution |
Greenhouse gases | Global warming | Climate Change | Urban Heat Islands | Acid Rain | Ozone Hole |
| Ecology and Various Ecosystems |
Biodiversity | Factors influencing increase in population | Energy consumption | Environmental degradation |
Section IX - Environmental Management and Sustainable Development
| Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Environmental Management Systems |
ISO 14000 Series | Environmental Auditing | Environmental Impact Assessment | Life Cycle Assessment | Human Health Risk Assessment |
| Environmental Law and Policy |
Objectives: Polluter pays principle | Precautionary principle | The Water and Air Acts with Amendments | The Environment (Protection) Act EPA 1986 | National Green Tribunal Act 2010 | National Environmental Policy | Principles of International Law and International Treaties |
| Energy and Environment |
Energy Sources | Overview of Resources and Reserves | Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Sources | Energy-Environmental Nexus |
| Sustainable Development |
Definition and Concepts of Sustainable Development | Sustainable Development Goals | Hurdles to Sustainability | Environment and Economics |
Download GATE 2026 ES syllabus PDF
GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus: Pattern
IIT Guwahati has released GATE 2026 environmental science and engineering syllabus on website. Candidates can check pattern below -
- GATE ES paper will be conducted online for three hours
- To obtain good score and rank in GATE 2026, students must be aware of exam pattern of GATE ES
- GATE question paper include three sections - General Aptitude (GA), Engineering Mathematics, and Subject-specific questions
- Total mark of GATE ES question paper 2026 is 100 and consists of 65 questions
- Distribution of marks can be checked here: engineering mathematics 13 marks, general aptitude 15 marks, and environmental science and engineering 72 marks.
- All questions carry either one to two marks. Negative marking is only applicable to MCQs.
GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) Allowed Two-Paper Combination
Candidates opting for environmental science and engineering as the primary subject in GATE 2026 can choose following test papers as secondary paper.
- Civil Engineering (CE)
- Chemical Engineering (CH)
- Geomatics Engineering (GE)
Also read:
Books for GATE 2026 Environmental Science and Engineering Preparation
Candidates can refer to the following books for GATE 2026 environmental science and engineering preparation -
| Name of the Book |
Author Name |
|---|---|
| A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning |
R.S Agarwal |
| A Handbook of Engineering Mathematics |
B.S Grewal |
| GATE Engineering Mathematics for All |
Arihant Publications |
| Fundamentals of Environmental Chemistry |
Manahan, S.E |
| Brock Biology of Microorganisms |
Micheal T. Madigan, John M. Martinko |
| Water Supply Engineering |
SK Garg |
| Principles of Environmental Science |
Cunningham W.P and Cunningham M.A |
Upasana Pradhan is an Mtech graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering from DTU who specialises in curating postgraduate and undergraduate engineering entrance exam content, such as GATE, TS PGECET, KCET,
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
No, GATE is not a mandatory entrance exam for all PhD admissions at NIT Jalandhar. Candidates who are qualified for direct admissions at NIT Jalandhar's Engineering PhD courses are require to clear it during ME/MTech admissions.
However, for the remaining candidates, they can also appear for the UGC-
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Contributor-Level 10
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No, candidates who are applying through their GATE score are not required to appear for the Written Test conducted by IIIT Bhubaneshwar for M.Tech admissions. This Written Test is only meant for candidates who did not apply through a valid GATE score. Other candidates will be moved directly to the P
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
No, GATE is not a mandatory entrance exam for securing admissions at IIIT Bhubaneshwar. Candidates who fail to secure a GATE scorecard can still appear for the IIIT Bhubaneshwar M.Tech entrance exam which includes a written test. The syllabus of this written test is the same as the GATE.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
GATE memory-based answer key, also known as the unofficial answer key released by several coaching institutes immediately after the completion of the exam. These questions are mainly derived by students feedback and might not be 100% accurate.
These memory-based GATE answer key helps students to ana
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
The GATE provisional answer key is an official document released by the official authorities along with the response sheet. The provisional answer key of GATE contains all the correct answers to the questions that were asked in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.
With the help of the GATE 2026 pr
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
In GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) official answer key, MTA stands for Marks to All.
"Marks to All" states that the marks allotted to that question will be given to all candidates who attempted that particular test paper.
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
No, both are the same in difficulty level. GATE is conducted for 30 papers, while JAM is held for seven papers. The difficulty level of IIT JAM and GATE varies from paper to paper. To score good marks, students must focus on the exam syllabus and high-weightage topics.
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 days ago
A GATE score of 700 to 800 is mainly required for M.Tech admission at IIT (especially for top IITs). However, the score also depends on the IIT popularity, branch popularity, and other factors. For new IITs, a GATE score of 500 to 600 is mainly required.
It is advised to check the past year's GATE c
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
Based on last year's cutoff mark and number of students appearing in the exam, the expected GATE cutoff for DA this year can be checked below -
Category | Qualifying Marks |
|---|---|
General | 36.5 - 38.7 (This year, GATE DA is expected to get tough, as the registered candidates are increasing) |
OBC-NCL/EWS | 27.5 |
SC/ST/PwD | 20.0 |
S
Contributor-Level 7
IIT Madras provides UG, PG, and doctoral courses. The courses include BTech, BTech-MTech (Dual Degree), BS-MS (Dual Degree), Integrated MA, MTech, MBA, MSc, MS by Research and PhD. IIT Madras has also started for an 8-week free online course on Data Science.